Palm Coast man accused of molestation

A Palm Coast man was arrested Saturday afternoon on a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation in connection with an incident that occurred in a wooded area of the Graham Swamp Preservation Area.

A 15-year-old boy told Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies that Jason Stockwell, 33, accosted him around 2 p.m. as he was walking through the area.

The juvenile said the man, wearing dark sunglasses, a jacket and black shirt, pulled down his own pants and exposed himself. Then, according to the juvenile, the man grabbed the juvenile, pulled down his pants and underwear and touched his genitals. The teenager said he was able to break free and ran to the parking lot on Old Kings Road where he called the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies located Stockwell on a preservation pathway and the teenager positively identified him as the attacker.

This is the third arrest that Flagler County deputies have made in the preservation area since October when the Sheriff’s Office launched a proactive patrol program on the preservation pathways based on investigative information gathered by detectives. In that sting operation, two men were arrested and charged with unnatural and lascivious acts and exposure of sexual organs.

No written complaints of deviant behavior on the preservation trails have been received by the Sheriff’s Office.

Foot and bike patrols are routinely scheduled in the Graham Swamp Preservation area and along bike trails and pedestrian paths throughout Flagler County.

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